| News 85, Little Initiates' Column The True Story of a Baby Squirrel
By sister initiate
Hannah M. Vu, Indiana, USA It was a sunny afternoon in fall, and trees started to display beautiful red and gold colors. The air was still warm although there was a cool breeze. In the back yard of a junior high school, a boy named Dan was waiting for school to finish so he could get a ride home with a friend. While he was playing, a little squirrel came towards him. He looked so small and cute, like he was only a few weeks old. As if having known the boy before, the squirrel went straight to Dan without fear. Dan noticed one of its legs was injured. While marveling at the cute creature without fear, he let the squirrel grasp his pant and climb up to his shoulder. When Dan's friends came out, they thought the squirrel was his own pet. Dan happily accepted that and named the 'male' squirrel "Cluster". On the way home, Cluster looked very contented in the understanding that Dan was not kidnapping him. Dan only wanted to help a lost and crippled baby animal who needed to be with someone. Cluster's family was probably too fast for him to keep up with, so he was simply lost and hungry. The squirrel showed no sign of wanting to run away, so Dan's whole family rejoiced with so much love in their hearts. Dan and his younger brother had long been wanting a pet, but because his family were initiates, they knew having a pet could create a lot of problems. Two weeks previously, Dan had asked his mother yet again to allow him to have a hamster, if not a dog or cat. But his mother is scared of rats, hamsters are a kind of rat; they give her goose bumps! But when Cluster came, Dan knew God had kindly granted his wish. Cluster was so easy to take care of. Besides some food and a small space for him to sleep, he required almost nothing. He was so cute and helpless that Dan's parents couldn't possibly refuse him. And best of all he was vegetarian by nature. His diet was mainly nuts. Therefore, the family loved Cluster so much that they went 'nuts' over him. On the first day that Cluster arrived, they immediately bought him a flea collar. All the fleas on his body quickly disappeared overnight. The next morning, Cluster got his own little box padded with a soft furry material that was designed for cats, as well as a lot of nuts to eat. Since his teeth were not strong enough to break a nut shell, the nuts were all cracked for him. For the first few days he enjoyed raw peanuts, then Dan switched his diet to walnuts, then pecans, then hazel nuts and then...almonds!! Finally, Dan's mother had to buy bags of mixed nuts. She spoiled the squirrel so much that she would give the whole bag to him to choose himself. Like a kitten, the squirrel was very clean and hated being bathed. Every day he would use his tongue to clean his fur. But better than a kitten, his "toilet" needed only to be a piece of absorbent paper towel next to his "house," that could be changed each time he wetted. The most amazing thing was that he NEVER wetted on people, carpets or any surface that could not be wiped. He would often hold his bladder until he found a suitable spot. Sometimes the family traveled and had to leave Cluster where there was no "toilet" facility. When this happened he simply didn't drink. That was surely a miracle and Dan believed even more that it was Master who gave him the pet. Dan insisted that his mother take Cluster to the vet to mend his hind leg because Dan couldn't stand seeing Cluster suffer. But the vet refused to help because he was "only a wild animal". Mercifully, Master healed him several days later, completely! He became a happy, playful animal. Soon, he became adventurous around the house and discovered new things about the human world. He did not hesitate to climb onto members of his new family, comfortably lay on their laps or shoulders, and doze off. One thing Cluster enjoyed doing was to chew on wood. Since wild squirrels mostly eat acorns, which are the round hard-shelled nuts of oak trees, they need to sharpen their teeth daily. Sometimes, Cluster was taken outdoors to play, but he didn't show much interest. The fall quickly passed, and the cold weather of winter approached, bringing gusty winds and snow. Little Cluster felt lucky he didn't have to be outside, taking refuge inside a little cave somewhere like other wild animals. Best of all he didn't have to look for old acorns left on the ground from the last season -- if there were any left at all. The gardener who worked in the area brought Cluster a long tree branch with a few branches for him to climb, chew, or just sit on. It became his gymnastic equipment. The backyard of Dan's home is a small wooded area. Once in a while other squirrels would come timidly to look for nuts. When Dan and his younger brother introduced Cluster to them, they looked at Cluster wondering, but he seemed not to care. The boys really enjoyed giving their animal neighbors some nuts in a shell. These friendly squirrels would hold the nuts, one at a time, in their mouths, then carry them to the nearby yard to look for a spot to bury them for another meal later. Then they would come back up to the house to pick up some more, leaving only the last one to eat. It's amazing how squirrels can remember the places where they buried nuts many days before. Cluster was so smart and loving that sometimes Dan felt like he was not a wild animal but a member of the family, having a soul of a human. Cluster loved his adopted family and very much enjoyed their embracing and caressing. But if any guest or stranger approached him, he would hide behind his little house or run to one of the family. Who said animals don't have souls? And who would have the heart to hunt or eat such an animal for the mere joy of it? Dan knows animals are such lovely beings and wishes humans and animals could live happily in peace together. Spring came, the fierce cold weather turned mild, and the ground became a soft carpet of green grass. One day, Dan's mother opened the patio door for some cool fresh air and Cluster went out to experience the world outside. It was beautiful, so open and free. Even though the family loved him very much, they had no intention of keeping him if he didn't want to be kept. After a while, he came back, possibly thinking whether or not he should leave. The next day, he went out to the patio again. This time he decided to experience more of the outside world. He sat on the deck a long time, smelling, looking at nature, the lawn and the woods out there. Whoa! He probably didn't know life could be better than it had been. He perhaps thought: "I really like outside better!", as he went down the deck to the yard and the trees. A wonderful new adventure was waiting for him. Cluster
did not come back. Dan and his brother went looking for him, but it
was so vast outside, he was probably already far away in the woods
somewhere. It was no use, but they missed him so much. Every day they
looked outside, hoping to see if Cluster would return. But he never
did. He had gone forever, starting his new independent life. They
prayed that his flea collar would fall off so his neck could grow
normally. One time, luckily, his collar did come off, as Cluster had
chewed it half way through. May God's care always be with him.
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Copyright
SMCHIA 2004
